As the army had a rather high physical standard, it was considered incredibly elite to be apart of the British army. Thus, many young men felt the desire to prove themselves worthy of this title. However, as the war went on, and losses at the front continued to grow immensely, the physical standards were removed over time. As of July 1915, height requirements had decreased from 168 centimetres to 157 centimetres and the age bracket had increased by ten years. As recruitment numbers began to drastically fall after realisations had sunk in, campaigns had become vastly more radical and propaganda was brought in at large.
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Britain had upheld a fair sized professional army throughout 1914 of about 20 divisions, which was seemingly small in comparison to Germany who had 94 divisions. It was assumed that the act of signing up voluntarily would ensure that the enlistment rate stabilised at about 100,000 per month. Committees set to recruit young men were stationed all around the country, the London Parliamentary Recruiting Committee announcing early “there are three types of men. Those who hear the call and obey; those who delay and – the others” which set the foundation for those who signed as being heroic and brave and those who did not, the cowards with no national pride. Recruiting abilities were exceptional in the early times of the war, as young men craved a sense of adventure and job stability, as well as the opportunity to defend one’s country, King and empire and for others, a chance to escape their dreary normalised lives and seek a chance to impress their friends or lovers. All of the young soldiers had shared the same belief that they would all be home by the Christmas of 1914 and did not want to miss the chance to be in on the action and pride.
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